2023 Festival Season: A Batting Paradise for Marketers

Authored by  Paramjeet Singh, head of marketing – ASUS India

India’s consumer market has emerged as one of the most lucrative globally, especially amid geo-political shifts and a visible slowdown of the top two giants in the consumer market, China and the US. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, India is on track to secure the position of the second-largest economy in the Asia-Pacific region after China, and third globally by 2030. This projection paints a promising picture for both local as well as international brands. With the kind of growth forecast reported by institutions and the opportunity areas mapped out, brands have been going guns flaring to capitalise on the aggressively increasing consumer appetite and spending trends.

Historically speaking, every marketer in India looks forward to the cricketing and the Indian festive season to offset the slower quarters and elevate brand and user engagement. Eventually, the stage was set for an impactful marketing play, and the stars aligned in 2023 with the convergence of the ICC Cricket World Cup and the festive season. The confluence of these two momentous occasions in India became the perfect window of opportunity for brands to launch compelling campaigns, promising an exceptional return on investment (ROI).

Drawing parallels to the global stage, the Cricket World Cup in India mirrors the spectacle of the USA NFL Super Bowl. With brands eyeing and competing for top ad spots during the Super Bowl, a congruent phenomenon was also witnessed during key matches that is viewed by over 800 million viewers. The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) also reported a record 518 million people tuning in to watch the live broadcast on TV during the finals that was between India and Australia. Cricket, known as a gentleman's game, has transcended demographics, influencing families across segments and playing a pivotal role in decision-making for high-value purchases.

The festival season is synonymous with a mix of spontaneous purchases and meticulously planned shopping sprees. Customers make swift decisions based on curated offers from both brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce portals. E-tailers strategically offer deals, resulting in the biggest online sales period, particularly in consumer electronics and fashion. E-commerce platforms in India generated around INR 29,000 crore ($3.9 billion) in sales during the first four days of the festive shopping period, according to a report by Redseer Strategy Consultants. This marks a 16% increase in sales compared to the same period last year. The surge in demand can also be mapped to the deals on high-value items and easy financing options.

Additionally, in the dynamic landscape of cricket, the evolving preferences of audiences, coupled with the expansive reach of digital platforms, have empowered brands and marketers with unprecedented tools for precise targeting. Leveraging the richness of data and advanced analytical capabilities, brands can now curate cohorts and tailor messages to specific audience segments, optimizing marketing strategies with enhanced focus and efficiency.

The proliferation of over-the-top (OTT) platforms has provided marketers with cost-effective options, enabling purchases based on a per 1000 impressions or CPM rate. Take, for example, the World Cup final between India and Australia, which achieved a record-breaking viewership of 5.9 crore peak concurrent viewers. Similarly, the semi-final between India and New Zealand drew in 4.3 crore viewers. Imagine the magnitude of the OTT platform offered the marketers to reach their audiences.

This year, the advent of the festive season aligned perfectly with strong third-quarter performance, including consumer electronics demand which was on the rise. Consumers were willing to allocate a significant portion of their budget for festive season sales. This spending spree was assisted by digital transactions, recording a 40% increase in October from a year earlier, according to Unified Payments Interface with smartphones, electronics and large appliances driving 67% of the sales. These numbers only suggest how the coinciding of cricket and the festive season furthered brand sales and acted in its truest sense as a batting paradise for marketers.